It all started at the pool. It was surprisingly empty for a late summer afternoon. The lifeguard blew the whistle, signaling the start of a mandatory rest period. Children are supposed to stop swimming so adults can swim for 15 minutes without getting cannonballed. I’ll be perfectly honest – there were five kids and 27,000 gallons of water and no one else in the pool. My kids got out and sat and waited. Two parents let their kids keep playing. The lifeguard didn’t say anything. The parents didn’t say anything.
You know who said something? My kids. The ones sitting out while the other kids were playing. How come we can’t get in? Me: It’s the rule. I know those other kids aren’t following the rule, but it won’t hurt you to wait a few more minutes.
It seemed like there wasn’t anything else I could say. But then I thought about the lesson that was being taught in that very moment. The one that said the rules don’t apply to everyone. The one my kids were learning by observation.
So I spoke up. I asked the parents if they were aware of the rule. When they said yes, I pointed out how hard it is for other kids to follow the rules when they see adults letting kids break them. This is totally unlike me. I’m still not sure if I did the right thing. I can only say that I felt like my kids needed to see me speak up.
We went back to playing in the water. About ten minutes later, I heard the parents telling their kids it was time to leave. Guess what? The kids ignored them. Why should they listen when their parents have taught them that they don’t have to respect people in authority? We make a life out of small, everyday decisions.
If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don’t love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them. Proverbs 13:24
The word “discipline” has a bad rap. We’re quick to identify it with punishment. But its root is the Latin word for pupil, or student. It refers to training that shapes and improves behavior. It leads to self-control. Isn’t this what we want for our kids?
I get it. Parenting is exhausting. But we want them to live, so we tell them don’t walk in the road (there are places it’s not good for you to go). Don’t stick the fork in the outlet (there are things it’s not good for you to do). We protect them and shelter them and teach them because we want them to stay alive.
If it’s true about their physical lives, how much more so the life of their soul? Their hearts? Parents are appointed to be Lifeguards, to teach our little ones how to live, “so they will know [how to live and] so each generation can set its hope anew on God” (Psalm 78:6-7).
Following rules isn’t the key to right living. We’re only made right with God by an undeserved gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8). But the Bible says we need to respect those in authority over us (Romans 13:1), and I guess I think God really means it. Even the lifeguard. Maybe especially the lifeguard.